Thaḷī is a Western
Saraiki dialect spoken in parts of the
Pakistani provinces of
Punjab and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has a widespread area, starting from Tank to Muzzafargarh on the eastern end of the Indus River and from Bannu running down to D I khan at the western end of the Indus River.[citation needed] It is classified as a northern dialect of
Saraiki,[1][2] although it has also been described as transitional between
Shahpuri and the central Saraiki
Multani dialect.[3] Its name derives from the
Thal Desert.[3]
Thali is one of several Saraiki dialects that are commonly known as Jaṭkī.[4]
It is spoken in
Khushab District and parts of the former
Shahpur District where it is known as Thaḷī.[5] Its local name in
Jhang District is Thaḷochṛī.[6] In
Dera Ismail Khan District it goes by the name of Ḍerāwāl[7] or Derawali,[3] and in
Mianwali and
Bannu districts it is known as Hindko or Mulkī.[3] A dialect of Thali spoken in the northeast is known as Kacchī.[8] Inhabitants of Dera Ismail Khan District, presumably speakers of this dialect, variously identify their language as Saraiki or
Hindko.[9] Likewise for those living in Mianwali District, who identify their language as either
Punjabi or Saraiki.[10]
Thali is spoken in the following districts of Punjab Province and districts of Kyber Pakhtunkha Province:[citation needed]
^Use of the term Jatki:
Singh 1970 (for Thali),
Masica 1991, p. 430 (for other Saraiki varieties).
^Grierson 1919, p. 381. The description here mentions Jhelum, rather than Khushab, but the current Khushab District occupies the parts of the erstwhile Jhelum District that are under discussion.
Bahri, Hardev (1963). Lahndi Phonetics : with special reference to Awáṇkárí. Allahabad: Bharati Press.
Grierson, George A. (1919).
"Thali".
Linguistic Survey of India. Vol. VIII, Part 1, Indo-Aryan family. North-western group. Specimens of Sindhī and Lahndā. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India.
Rensch, Calvin R. (1992). "The Language Environment of Hindko-Speaking People". In O'Leary, Clare F.; Rensch, Calvin R.; Hallberg, Calinda E. (eds.).
Hindko and Gujari. Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan. Islamabad: National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University and Summer Institute of Linguistics.
ISBN969-8023-13-5.
Shackle, Christopher (1976). The Siraiki language of central Pakistan : a reference grammar. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
Singh, Atam (1970). "An introduction to the dialects of Punjabi". Pākhā sanjam. 3 (1).
ISSN0556-4417. The account of Thali here is based entirely on Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India.